


Trying

by olivemartini



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Jealousy, Romance, Unrequited Love, ronmione
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 05:45:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6067401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olivemartini/pseuds/olivemartini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ron's in love with Hermione.  Fred's trying not to be bitter about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trying

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place at the beginning of OoTP.

Ron's in love with Hermione, and Fred's trying not to be bitter about it.

He's trying not apparate into the room whenever he knows they're alone together, just in case they might be getting up to something Ron might find a little too enjoyable.  He's trying to keep his snide comments to a minimum, because even though he intends them to be good natured, the frown on Hermione's face and the crestfallen look on Ron's make him think he was more hurtful than he tried to be.  He's trying not to roll his eyes at the dumbfounded expression on Ron's face whenever Hermione pays him a compliment, or to keep himself away from Hermione when she smiles at him, because no one involved would want him to be around if he knew how much he liked to be smiled at by her.  He's been doing nothing but _trying_ since she had come to stay with them last summer, and if the looks George has been giving him are anything to go by, he's not doing a very good job.

Fred doesn't want to hurt anyone.  He knows that his brother has had enough of being overshadowed to last him a lifetime, but it takes an incredible amount of restraint to not add just one more thing to the list, especially when he sees how much of a thick headed arsehole Ron can be.  But Fred knows that if he were to give Ron even the merest hint of what he was really thinking whenever Ron talks about her, it would be a line that could never be uncrossed.  Because as much as Fred likes Hermione, Ron's had his eye on her forever, and he's not fond of being the one to cause his broken heart.  Even if he asks for it.

So when the family talks about how they were going to get married someday, he smiles.  When Hermione comes down wearing Ron's sweater, he doesn't say a word.  When Ron asks for advice, he gives it to him, even though every cell in his body was crying out for blood and he wanted nothing more than to hex Ron within an inch of his life.  When he sees the two of them involved in some intimate moment, like now, he looks away (but that might have more to do with the fact that its too painful to watch rather than any fondness for his brother). 

They're in love with each other.  Fred thinks it might be easier to take if one of them would get some nerve and admit it, rather than dancing around it.  It was inevitable- most likely set in stone from the moment they decided they were going to be Harry's best friends, he knows.  But until they admit it, there's still a chance for him.

There's a chance that Hermione's smile might be meant for him.  There's a chance that she'll look at him and tell him how brilliant he is more often, not sniff in disapproval at his blatant disregard for the rules.  There's a chance that he won't have to listen to her cry after she a Ron had had a row, or that the next time she cries it'll be perfectly okay for him to wrap her in his arms and tell her it's going to be okay.  There is a chance that she can look at him, and be happy.  Maybe one day shell look over at him a decide that they're finally going to talk about that night after the Yule ball, where she was crying and upset and had forgotten about both Ron and Viktor, and he had been there for her.  If this were to happen, Fred wouldn't waste his time worrying about what she had done with Viktor Krum and would just tell her how he feels, unlike his cry baby brother.

But he can't do that.  Because as much as he might love Hermione, he loves Ron more.  The pangs in his chest and the twisting of his insides are a small price he has to pay for his little brother to be happy.

And anyways, as much as Fred likes to tell himself otherwise, he really had no choice in the matter.  He's fighting a losing battle, because as much as Ron loves Hermione, Hermione loves Ron even more.


End file.
